Research & Special Reports

February 1st, 2016

Construction and reconstruction of educational buildings — schools and colleges combined — totaled about $24.5 billion in 2015. School districts throughout the United States put $12.9 billion worth of construction in place during 2015.

February 1st, 2014

February 1st, 2013

School districts in the United States spent just under $13 billion on construction projects completed during the 2012 calendar year. Only $6.2 billion of that was spent on new schools, accounting for 47.6 percent of the construction dollars. The balance was split between additions to existing buildings and retrofit and modernization of existing structures. This is the first time in 12 years that spending for new buildings was less than spending on existing ones.

February 1st, 2012

In 2011, $12.2 billion worth of school construction was put in place. That's a lot of money, but put it in perspective. From 2000 through 2008, school construction averaged more than $20 billion annually. The demand for school space and improved facilities has not lessened - the number of children schools serve continues to rise - but, as a consequence of the 2008 recession, combined with the anti-tax sentiment it spawned, the money has dried up.

February 1st, 2011

Total school construction fell in 2010, but even so, more than $14.5 billion dollars of construction was put in place making schools one of the largest construction markets in the United States. Read about this and more in the 16th Annual School Construction Report.

February 1st, 2010

Last year’s projections proved to be very accurate. School construction in 2009 fell 16 percent from one year ago, to just $16.4 billion, the lowest total for school construction since 1998. The 15th Annual Construction Report gives the details and a synopsis.

February 1st, 2009

School construction remains high, but not as high as it has been over the last eight years. Projections for the future (projects expected to be completed and/or started in 2009) show a significant decline. Capital budgets may be in place, but the economic hard times that are affecting all of us and forcing cuts in many local school programs are also having an effect on construction planning. How much, and to some extent where and why, is the focus of this report.

February 1st, 2008

School construction completed in 2007 — including new buildings, additions to existing buildings, and major retrofit of existing buildings — totaled almost $20.8B, a significant increase over the $20.1B spent on construction completed in 2006.

February 1st, 2007

School construction completed in 2006 totaled just more than $20 billion, a drop of seven percent from the record $21.6 billion put in place in 2005. Even so, it was the sixth year in the last seven that annual construction exceeded $20 billion. During the seven years of the present century, school districts have completed construction projects totaling more than $145 billion.

February 1st, 2006

SP&M's annual survey of school construction statistics including projects completed during 2005, projected completions for 2006, and projects that will begin construction during 2006. In addition to national figures, statistics are broken down to provide detail for 12 regions of the nation, as well as the types of construction being planned or completed.

February 1st, 2005

School construction in the United States dipped below $20 billion in 2003, the first time that had happened in the 21st Century, setting off alarm bells that the school construction boom might be fading. That concern appears to be unfounded. In 2004, school districts in the United States once again completed more than $20 billion worth of construction and the probability is that at least that much will be completed during the current calendar year.